How are animals inspected on ante-mortem at slaughterhouses?
A. Every head of livestock is inspected ante-mortem, before slaughter, by a public health veterinarian or other inspection personnel. The vet or other FSIS in-plant inspectors randomly verify, during each shift, plant humane handling practices before, during and after ante-mortem inspection and will take immediate control action if inhumane handling is observed. FSIS recognizes that plant employees might be aware of the presence of inspection program personnel, so inspectors are instructed to conduct humane handling verification activities in a way that they are not in plain view of plant employees, when possible. During ante-mortem inspection, an animal will be condemned once the veterinarian has determined the animal to be nonambulatory disabled. The veterinarian may make a determination on whether an animal can proceed to slaughter if the animal becomes nonambulatory after ante-mortem inspection has been performed. Q. Why didn’t FSIS personnel witness nonambulatory animals being pre
